Dhrumil

"

“Sludge” is the toxic language that judges people for how they spend their time. It’s based on old beliefs about how work should happen.

Sludge is when someone says, “10:00 a.m. and you’re just getting in? I wish I could come in late every day.” The belief being expressed here is that work happens between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The person who isn’t in the building at 8:00 a.m. is therefore not working.

Of course, to a certain extent, we’re all knowledge workers now. The person could have been at home coming up with the next great idea. Yet they’re being slammed based not on what they produced, but where their body was at 8:05 a.m. It’s ridiculous.

In a traditional work environment, sludge is a huge weight on everyone’s shoulders. Sludge makes people feel guilty, angry, frustrated, and disrespected. It makes them feel like children instead of like adults.

"